


can i borrow a pencil?

by iconicmorrison



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Dominant Rhys, F/M, Father Jack, Female Reader, Jealousy, Nicknames, Rhys likes pet names hehe, Slow Burn, Smut, Student AU, Students, Switch Reader, aussie zane ofc, dad jack !, dorky rhys, f reader - Freeform, friend amara, highschool, highshool AU - Freeform, principle jack, rhys is shy, soft rhys, starts out soft, switch rhys, they’re 18 it’s chill, zane is rhys’s weird uncle in this AU ok, ‘can i borrow a pencil’ line
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-11-22 08:55:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20871545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iconicmorrison/pseuds/iconicmorrison
Summary: High school AU in which reader meets Rhys through school, and develops a small crush on him. Does include smut, but the slow burn comes first baby.





	1. Chapter 1

“Today we’ll be discussing what you all already know about allotropes, and taking notes on new information...” your science teacher spoke in a monotone voice, standing in front of the class.

This had to be a joke, right? Learning about allotropes? Senior year? You’d learned this all the way back in chemistry. 

Whatever, you could deal with notes for the day. 

Wait...shouldn’t you be discussing fire drills right now? And safety information? Wasn’t that something all teachers did on the first day of school? 

Apparently not, because when you spaced back in, there were already notes up on the board.

Oh fuck, you didn’t even have your notebook out. 

Reaching in your bag, you pulled it out quickly, and looked for a pencil. You had to have brought one...right?

Wrong.

Sighing, you glanced to your right, eyeing the brown and blue-eyed boy that sat next to you. Guess you’d have to ask him.

This...seemed a little too familiar. Ohh, typical high school ‘can i borrow a pencil and then we fall in love’ thing. Right. Well, that definitely wasn’t happening now. You told yourself you’d focus on school.

“Do you have a pencil I could use?” You whispered to him, which seemed to startle him a bit.

He paused and stared at you, smiling a bit.

“...well?” you probed.

“Oh! Y-yeah...” he mumbled before handing you a dark blue mechanical pencil.

“Thanks,” you smiled at him, turning to write down the notes.

But your teacher had already moved on to the next slide. Shit. Maybe pencil boy copied them down? You’d just ask him after class.

••

The bell snapped you out of your day dream, a hazy state of glee fresh in your mind. You’d been day dreaming about going home and watching Netflix all bundled up. 

Oh! The notes!

“Hey,” you stood up, turning to face ‘pencil boy’.

He looked puzzled,”Um...hey...?”

“Did you get the first set of notes copied down? Someone took a bit too long to give me a pencil, so I couldn’t get them,” you playfully rolled your eyes.

He crossed his arms, his heterochromic eyes focusing on you,”Y’know I could’ve just said no...”

“I was kidding! I promise. Please, I just need the notes,” you nodded.

He ran his fingers through his chestnut hair, a couple of strands falling into his face. Oh wow—he was cute. Standing up like this, you got a clear view of what he looked like. He had one brown eye and one blue, and chestnut brown hair that he’d slicked back. 

Your eyes looked downward a bit, a yellow glimmer catching your eye. Wait—what the hell?

He had one mechanical arm, a yellow paint casted over it. It wasn’t necessarily uncommon to see things like this at your school, but you’d never been friends with someone who had a prosthetic. If you weren’t lying to yourself, it looked pretty badass.

“Hello? Earth to pencil girl?” He mocked, waving his mechanical hand in front of your face.

“Sorry! Sorry, I was just...taking you in,” you sighed at your poor choice of words.

‘taking you in’? seriously? 

“O...kay, whatever that means,” he chuckled, motioning for you to walk out of the classroom, and he’d follow.

You felt your cheeks heat up a bit at your dumb choice of words. Seriously, you could’ve said literally anything else.

“I did get the notes, by the way,” he smiled at you, walking next to you in the hall.

You coughed,”I have to stop at my locker, could you just give them to me there?”

He nodded, and followed you to your locker. 

Okay, okay, don’t panic. There totally isn’t a super cute boy following you to your locker to give you your notes. Nope! There wasn’t. 

You stopped at your locker, pencil boy standing to your left, leaning against the one next to yours.

Okay...maybe there was.

“Y’know, I could just give you my number and you could text them to me,” you smiled.

He raised his eyebrows, laughing.

“Giving me your number on the first day of school? Classy,” he joked.

You rolled your eyes,”Calm it pencil boy. I literally just need the notes.” 

He laughed,”I know, sorry,” 

Looking down, he was offering his phone to you, a new contact already pulled up. You grabbed it and put your number in, before putting your contact name as ‘pencil girl’, and handing it back to him.

“...Really? Pencil girl?” He laughed.

You nodded,”I told you, I just want the notes. No names are needed,” you laughed.

“Oh, so what is this like? A one night stand?” He joked.

“I will cram this pencil you gave me down your throat, so help me god-“

“Woah woah relaaax, it was a joke,” he drew out.

••

You yawned, staring at your TV screen. It was 11:00 p.m, and you’d been bundled up, watching Netflix for the past two hours. 

And honestly, who could blame you? You didn’t have homework, and your blankets were comfortable as hell. Plus, a new season of your favorite show had come out. 

A blur of color shifted in front of your face as you rubbed your eyes, and slowly shut them. You began to think about what had happened today.

Your friend Amara said that she sat next to a cute boy in her third period and exchanged snap users with him, so that was exciting. Well...for her, at least. Two kids had already gotten detentions, but it was expected of your principle. 

Jack was what you called him, as you’d been in his office on multiple occasions, and honestly talked to him probably too much. To regular students, he was ‘Mr.Hyperion’. Jack was strict when it came to school rules, and you’d honestly been expecting more than two kids to get a detention. 

And then you began to think about pencil boy. Nothing bad, obviously. Just...a lot. Why did he wait so long to give you that damn pencil? Was it because he was taking in what you looked like? You didn’t consider yourself gorgeous, but not ugly. Just in the middle, how you liked it.

A loud ‘ding!’ interrupted your thoughts, your phone buzzing. Picking it up, you were puzzled when you saw a random number with your area code.

You opened your phone, reading the message.

‘Hey pencil girl. Here are the notes you missed. P.S- don’t forget a pencil next time.’ 

Oh, pencil boy. You chuckled to yourself and set his contact up, before saving the notes to your camera roll, and deciding you’d fill them out tomorrow morning. 

‘Thanks!’ is all you sent back.

Part of you was wishing he would continue the conversation, maybe ask you how your day went. But he didn’t. 

Oh well. What were you expecting anyways? A high school romance novel? No ma’am. You told yourself school was your priority focus. And it was. 

You sighed before setting your phone down, and laying down to go to sleep. 

Just notes, that’s all you needed. Nothing more.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Rhys find out each other’s real names, and you meet his friend Vaughn.

“____?” your name was called quietly, and your eyes fluttered open. 

“hm?” you lazily asked.

“Have a nice nap, did we?” Your english teacher spoke in an annoyed tone.

Wait, what? 

Your teacher must’ve been able to tell you were confused, as they spoke,”You’ve been out since we started the lecture.”

Oh, yikes. You hadn’t slept well the past night, waking up on and off. 

“Sorry, Mr.Lawrence.” you sighed, your face flushing pink as the whole class stared at you. 

You sat in the back of the class, so you figured you’d be safe to take a nap. Apparently you were wrong. You also thought Mr.Lawrence would let you off the hook, and just shrug it off.

“See me after class.” He stared, before walking back up to the white board.

You were also wrong about that. 

Man, why couldn’t Mr.Lawrence be as nice as some of your other teachers? Then again, all of your past english teachers had been the same way he was. It must be an english thing.

••

The bell rang, and you suddenly became aware of how dry your throat was. Standing up, you made your way to Mr.Lawrence’s desk. His eyes were focused on his ECHO screen, his fingers going wild on the holographic keyboard.

“Mr.Lawrence...you wanted to see me after class?” You chuckled, making a small joke.

Which apparently, he didn’t find funny at all.

“I did. Why were you sleeping in my class?” He asked, his voice monotone.

‘What does it seem like old man, I was tired’. Is what you wanted to say. But you refrained from that. 

“I apologize, sir. I didn’t sleep well last night.” 

He sighed and nodded his head,”Very well. If this continues, I’ll have no choice but to send you to Mr.Hyperion’s office. You’re dismissed.” He waved you off.

You gave him a half hearted smile, before turning and walking out of his classroom. 

What. A. Dick. 

You fall asleep one time in a man’s classroom and he acts like the world is ending. Sheesh.

Besides, sending you to Jack’s office would be useless. The year prior, you’d always been in the office, usually for ‘counseling’. Jack, or Mr.Hyperion had pulled you in his office one day, concerned about your office attendance. He’d asked if you needed help with anything, and ever since then, you’d visited him quite a lot. It not like he’d punish you for being sent to his office, right?

Sighing, you walked into your science class, and plopped down in your seat. 

Great, now you had to deal with pencil boy. 

...is what you told yourself. You knew that you kiiiinda wanted to see him. Maybe a little. Maybe. Okay, a lot.

Your phone vibrated in your pocket, disrupting your thoughts. You quickly pulled it out.

‘Amara: Text Message”. 

You chuckled to yourself and opened it.

‘I saw you walking in the hall yesterday with some tall cutie. who is he ?? spill now !’

Laughing, you messaged her back.

‘He’s not cute ! I just needed notes from him, so he followed me to my locker’

She responded rather quickly.

‘right...that’s why i saw you give him your number ;)’ 

You felt yourself flush pink, and responded.

‘i just needed the notes !! come on mar’

A soothing voice spoke to your right,”Who you textin’ pencil girl?”

You jumped, quickly locking your phone, and turning toward him. 

“None of your business,” you joked.

He put his hands up defensively,”Geez, alright...”

“Get your notebooks out class. There are more notes for today.” Your teacher spoke.

Oh fun, just what you needed to brighten your day. Notes.

The boy to your right laughed quietly,”So...you gotta pencil today?”

You smiled and pulled out the deep blue mechanical one he’d given you,”Well of course,” you laughed.

“Psssst. Rhyyyyys.” A voice spoke to your left.

You turned your head slowly, questioning who the hell this was, and what he’d just said.

Rhys? Was that pencil boy’s name?

“I don’t have a pencil. Can I borrow one bro?” The boy spoke.

Pencil boy—er—Rhys, rolled his eyes,”Of coooourse you don’t Vaughn. Take this one,” he passed him a light green pencil. 

“Thanks bro!” The boy to your left, who you assumed to be Vaughn, smiled.

That was a...weird way to find out his name. 

••

You were bored out of your mind. These notes were probably the most boring thing in this galaxy. 

Your eyes grew heavy as you struggled to stay awake, but sleep eventually took you. 

“Um...pencil girl?” A soft voice entered your ears, a warm hand shaking you.

“Wha...” you yawned, opening your eyes. 

And then you saw where you were.

You’d fallen asleep in class (once again), and laid your head on Rhys’s arm. Oops.

“Sorry! Sorry,” you blushed, lifting your head.

He smiled softly, nodding reassuringly,”It’s alright. I just didn’t want you to get in trouble,” 

Wait, it was alright that you fell asleep on him? Interesting...

“Thanks, Rhys,” you smiled at him, and he seemed to be surprised you knew his name.

“I’m not pencil boy anymore?” He frowned.

You laughed quietly, making sure your teacher (that was currently speaking) couldn’t hear you.

“You can still be pencil boy. Rhys is a nice name, though.” you smiled.

You swore you saw his face flush pink, before your teacher yelled at you two.

“____? Rhys? Is there something you’d like to share with the whole class?”

Rhys went stiff, so you decided to take charge.

“No, sorry. We were discussing the notes,” you fake smiled.

“Mhm. I’m sure you were...” your teacher mumbled, before continuing on with notes.

Well, that was an interesting way for him to find out your name.

••

The bell rang and you sighed, you were finally free from science. Holy shit was that class boring. Well, with the exception of Rhys, of course.

You two stood up in unison, Vaughn following along. Walking into the hallway, Rhys spoke.

“So, ____?”

You raised your eyebrows,”That...is my name, yes, Rhys,”

“W-Well I know that. It’s just...nice. Pretty.” He blushed.

You smiled brightly,”Thank you.”

A few moments of silence followed, before your new ‘friend’ Vaughn spoke up.

“Soo...___, you and Rhys know each other?” He questioned.

You chuckled,”Yeahhh...you could say that,” 

“N-Not really, Vaughn. She asked me for a pencil yesterday.” He stuttered.

“Ohh, smooth move,” Vaughn winked at you, before speaking again,”Welp, my class is that way.” He pointed left, before waving and walking away.

“See ya after school buddy!” Rhys smiled, before continuing to walk alongside you.

What did Vaughn say? ‘Smooth move’? 

“Who...Who is that?” You asked.

“Vaughn? He’s been my friend since...forever. We’re bros.” He smiled.

“You’re...bros?”

“Yeah, bros, bro.”

You sighed,”O...kay.”

You turned to go toward Jack’s office, wanting to talk to him. That is, before you felt a tug on your shoulder.

“W-Where are you going?” He asked.

“Mr.Hyperion’s office, why?” You questioned.

“Oh. Is everything alright?” He sounded genuinely concerned.

“I...” you started.

“Sorry! Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. That’s probably why you’re going to him. I’ll...see you tomorrow,” he blushed, before turning and walking away quickly.

That was...odd. To say the least. 

Walking to Mr.Hyperion’s office, you knocked on his door, before hearing a ‘come iiiin’.

You closed the door behind you, smiling toward him.

“____! I haven’t seen you since last year! How are thiiiings?” He smiled.

“Uh...alright. Could be better.” You laughed.

He looked puzzled, so you sat down and spoke.

“Mr.Lawrence yelled at me for falling asleep in class. And then I fell asleep in science...on another student,” you sighed.

“Tim is always a bitch. And—wait wait, on another student?” He questioned.

“Y-Yeah. The kid that sits next to me.” 

“I’m gonna need names, cupcake.” 

You laughed,”Jack, why?”

“If you’re falling asleep on some kid, I need to make sure they’re not a troublemaker.”

You rolled your eyes. Jack was like the dad you never had. The parent figure you never had. Some might’ve called your and his relationship weird, but you considered him practically your father. And honestly, it wasn’t that weird.

“Rhys. Don’t know his last name,” you spoke.

“Rhys? As in Rhys Strongfork?” 

You almost choked,”Rhys what?” you laughed,”Say, say his last name again,” 

Jack hesitated,”...Strongfork. You heard it right,” he laughed.

“That’s...odd. But I kinda like it,” you chuckled.

“Woah woah,” he raised an eyebrow,”You like it?” 

“Like, I like the name, Jack.” You corrected him.

“I don’t knowww...” he teased.

“Oh come on! I just met this kid. Him and his weird friend Vaughn. They don’t seem like bad people,” you assured him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love awkward rhys okay ?


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your day = not good, and Rhys tries to help you out

You sighed, pulling into a parking spot. Grabbing your book bag, you made your way into the school, after locking your car. 

Today was only Wednesday. Damn.

“____!” Your name was called from behind you.

Turning around, you saw it was Amara, your best friend. You waved at her, the blue markings on her arm lighting up. She made her way over to you, and began walking you to your locker.

“Morning!” She smiled at you.

You yawned,”Morning,”

She looked at you in confusion,”What’s got you so tired? I thought you went to bed early last night?”

You shook your head,”Don’t know. I think i’m still trying to wake up,” you laughed.

You two made your way over to your locker, grabbing the stuff you needed for the day and putting it in your book bag. 

“Are you sure you weren’t thinking about notes boy?” She sneered.

You felt yourself blush a little, before refuting,”No way, Amara. He’s not my type, and even if he was, I don’t lose sleep over boys,”

“Uhh maybe not over most boys, but i’d give you this as an exception. Look at the damn boy ___! He’s cute as hell!” She exclaimed.

You smiled a bit to yourself,”I don’t know...”

You two continued to walk the halls, Amara beaming as she tried to talk to you about Rhys.

“Do you know his name?” She asked.

“Rhys,” you smiled, checking your phone.

‘Pencil Boy: Text Message’

“Rhys...he even has a cute name!” She suggested.

You opened the message, wondering what he would’ve texted you about.

‘Hey. sorry about invading your space yesterday’ 

You quickly replied.

‘it’s alright rhys :)’ 

“...I mean, he’s got beautiful brown hair, and have you seen his eyes? I think he has an ECHO eye. Those things are crazy expensive...” she continued rambling on about him,”you have to admit he’s cute.”

You exhaled,”If I say he’s cute, will you stop pestering me about him?”

She nodded her head and laughed.

“Then yeah. He’s kinda cute,” 

“Kinda?” 

“Okay...really cute. He’s actually really cute,” you laughed.

She smiled,”I knew it!”

The bell rang, interrupting what you were about to say. Damn. You were gonna be late.

••

“Alright class. Today will be a free day. I’m giving you time to complete the assignments i’ve given you. Those being the two essays i’ve assigned you.” Mr.Lawrence spoke in a monotone voice.

Okay, a free period wasn’t so bad. You could actually get stuff done. You opened your book bag and got out your ECHO, opening up one of the essays you’d already started. It was an argumentative essay about how important technology was in current society, and how it’s impact is going to be even greater in the future. You began typing, and honestly, you were proud of your work. 

Yet again, the embrace of sleep became more and more welcoming. Your eyelids felt heavy, and you blinked sparingly. Okay, maybe a five minute nap wouldn’t be bad...

••

“____, again?” Mr.Lawrence tapped your desk, waking you up.

“I’m sorry, Mr.Lawrence...” You looked around, seeing that you were the only one left in the classroom. 

You quickly shoved your ECHO in your book bag, standing up and heading toward the door.

“Not so fast young lady.” Mr.Lawrence spoke.

You sighed and dropped your head.

“I want you to go to Mr.Hyperion’s office. This behavior is unacceptable.” 

You only nodded and walked down to Jack’s office. Mr.Lawrence was such a dick. 

You knocked on his office door, walking in seconds after. Jack’s face lit up in a smile.

“How’s it going?” He asked.

You sighed, plopping down in a chair,”Mr.Lawrence told me to come to your office.” 

Was all you said. Jack noted the exhausted sound in your voice.

“Why?” He asked, crossing his legs.

“I fell asleep in his class again.” 

He shook his head and crossed his arms,”Honestly, he was right to send you down here,”

Wait, what? What the hell did Jack just say?

“You can’t keep falling asleep in class, ___.” 

“What? Jack, this is the part where you say something funny about Tim, and we laugh, and I go to science,” you tried.

“No, it’s not. This is the part where I tell you that you can’t keep falling asleep in class, or i’ll have to do something about it.”

“What the hell is up with you?” You stood up.

Jack stood up as well, looking down at you,”Watch your language. And sit back down. You’re staying in my office for half of the period.” He stated, before walking out and slamming the door.

Oh, great. Now Jack was mad at you. 

..At least you could work on your essays though. You pulled your ECHO out, and looked for the file of the first essay. Where was it? 

Nowhere.

Fuck.

You’d accidentally deleted it either while falling asleep on your ECHO, or shoving it in your bag. Fuck fuck fuck. It was due tomorrow.

You slammed your ECHO to the ground, covering your face with your hands.

Just then, your phone buzzed.

‘Pencil Boy: Text Message.’

You opened it.

‘where are you?’

You decided to respond,

‘Jack’s office.’

You were left on delivered for a bit, before he read it, and texted you again.

‘Sorry .. :(‘

You responded,

‘why?’

Jack’s door bursted open, the principle himself strolling back in.

“Oh, what, did you throw a hissy fit? Pick your damn echo up and go to class.” 

You teared up while leaning down, shoving your busted ECHO into your bag again. 

Standing up, you locked eyes with him, and spoke with an uneven voice,”You’re such an asshole, Jack.”

With that, you left, tears threatening to fall down your face. You wiped your eyes and headed to science. 

Opening the door to your science classroom, everybody turned to stare at you. You half heartedly smiled before taking your seat in between Rhys and Vaughn.

The class was working on individual work, yet some students were chattering.

“___, do you have a pass?” You teacher asked.

“Yeah, ill send it to you.”

You took no notice to the fact that Rhys was staring at you, his expression sad. 

Taking out your ECHO, you pressed the button to power it on. But it didn’t come on. At all.

God fucking damn it.

“Rhys?” You questioned, turning toward him,”Can I use your echo? Mine...isn’t working,”

You decided it would be best if you didn’t go into detail.

“Of course,” he smiled softly, handing you his deep blue ECHO. 

You pulled yourself up and sent a pass to your teacher, before handing it back to him. 

“Thanks.” Was all you said, before crossing your arms, and laying down on them.

Why was Jack being such an asshole? Why did you have to throw your ECHO? Why the hell did you delete your essay?

The bell rang sooner than later, and you collected your things and stood up. You walked out of the classroom, Vaughn and Rhys chasing you to catch up to you.

“See you guys.” Vaughn sighed before parting.

Rhys looked at you for a moment, and spoke,”Hey...”

You turned your head toward him and continued walking,”Hm?”

“Are you okay?” His voice was washed over with sadness and concern.

Your insides lit up at the fact that he cared about how you were doing. Were you going to be honest with him?

“Not really.” You frowned.

“What’s—er—nevermind. I um, I’ll text you, okay? A-And please respond as soon as you can or i’ll worry,” he sighed.

He would worry about you? 

“Okay,” you sighed, before parting ways with him, giving him a peace sign.

••

Your last period went by faster than expected. You sat there the whole time, taking notes on the human brain and how it functioned. Honestly, psychology was interesting to you.

“...and often, when the body feels a sense of love or arousal, the following may happen,” your teacher skipped to the next slide.

You jotted down the bullet points, taking special care to write down ‘worry’.

Rhys...would worry if you didn’t respond? That...probably didn’t mean anything. Probably.

••

Your phone buzzed as you closed your door.

‘Pencil Boy: Text Message.’ 

You slid it open, and changed his name to Rhys before reading his message.

‘What’s wrong?’ 

You responded.

‘A lot.’

He texted back instantly.

‘Well, Vaughn and I are going out to eat, and he’s bringing a girl. Do you wanna come with me? If it’d make you feel better’ 

You smiled at the offer.

‘I would, but I can’t. I have to somehow finish an essay on a broken ECHO, and recover the one I deleted. Which I don’t think is possible.’ 

He replied quickly.

‘I can come over and help you out, if you’d like :)’

Maybe having Rhys over would calm you down.

‘Yes please’

He texted back,

‘um...what’s your address again?’ 

You chuckled and sent it to him. He texted you back,

‘be there in ten’

••

Your doorbell rang, and upon answering the door, you found out that it was Rhys. He wore a blue striped button up tucked into some black slacks, and a black belt. Honestly, it looked pretty cute on him. 

“Thanks for coming,” you smiled at him, letting him in.

He returned the smile, his face flushed pink,”O-Of course. I’d much rather be here than with Vaughn and his lady friend anyways,”

You sat on the couch, patting the cushion next to you, motioning for him to sit down. He plopped down.

“I um...broke my echo,” you sighed.

You handed it to him, and he took it gently, inspecting it.

“I should be able to get it working, give me five minutes,”

You smiled at him and nodded.

While we was working on your ECHO, you watched how swiftly his hands moved, and how gentle they were. Judging by the way he was fixing your ECHO, you figured he was a gentle kisser, and oh god what you wouldn’t do to have those gentle hands clasped in yours.

Woah, what?

“Try it out,” He handed it to you.

You pushed the button, turning it on. Holy shit, he fixed it.

“Oh my god, thank you so much Rhys,” you sighed.

“No problem,” he smiled shyly.

You opened your files, hoping your deleted essay would be there. But it wasn’t. You sighed into your hands, closing your eyes.

“W-What is it?” 

“My essay’s gone. I have to restart the whole thing.” 

Honestly, you were just waiting for today to get worse.

“Fuck, fuck. I’m not gonna have enough time to...” 

You felt a warm hand on your back as Rhys began to soothe you.

“H-Hey, it’s alright, I might be able to get it back,”

You handed your ECHO to him once again, watching him work.

He took his hand off your back, using both to navigate your ECHO.

“What was the essay about?” He asked quietly.

“Oh—um...” you strayed away.

Lots of kid’s essays were about the media, and school rules. Stupid easy stuff to write about. Yours...well, you honestly found technology quite interesting, and you put a lot of thought into your essay.

“Technology...” You spoke quietly,”...and how it um—how it’s advancing us.”

Rhys’s eyes seemed to light up at the statement.

“Y-You’re into technology too? That’s what I plan on majoring in in college!” He was obviously excited.

“I am,” you flushed pink.

“T-Thats so cool!” He smiled,”And I found it,”

“Sweet!” You smiled and gently took your ECHO from him.

You two sat in silence for a while as you began to type, and Rhys laid down on your couch. You didn’t mind his company. In fact, you found it soothing. 

Every couple of minutes you couldn’t help but take a glance at him. You observed his heterochromic eyes, remembering that he had an ECHO-eye. That was so sick. Your eyes traveled down to his small nose, and his soft lips, then back up to his chestnut hair. 

“How did you break your echo, by the way?” He asked.

You froze up, turning toward him. 

He asked, and you let it all out. You told him how Amara wouldn’t leave you alone about him, and how Mr.Lawrence had yelled at you for the second time this week. You explained to him the relationship you had with Jack, and told him he was being an absolute asshole. Then you told him about slamming your ECHO on the ground, and crying. 

You hadn’t realized it, but tears began to flow down your face. Today was bad. Really bad. Jack had never got on you like that before. He was always the nice, relaxed adult support you had. And now, he was being a dick. 

Rhys scooted closer to you, enveloping you in a warm, soft hug. You hugged back tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. Sniffing, you inhaled his sweet scent. He smelled like fresh honey, and a warm summer day. Hell, he even smelled good.

You felt bad about the wet spot you were leaving, so you pulled back, and looked him in the eyes.

He brought his mechanical arm up to your face, wiping your tears gently. His ECHO-eye lit up blue, and focused on you. The intensity of his gaze was almost enough to make you lungs forward and kiss him. But he probably didn’t feel the same way about you.

A soft voice interrupted your thoughts,”C-Can I um...can I kiss you?” he stammered.

You nodded swiftly and he acted in no time. His soft lips were on yours, fitting perfect as a puzzle piece. His hands rubbed your back, the kiss warm, slow, and soft. He really meant something. 

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him over top of you. He moaned quietly into your mouth, his hands never leaving your sides. He didn’t make any advances on you, and it was clear he just wanted to kiss you. He didn’t want to get into your pants, or just make you feel better. 

Rhys Strongfork actually wanted to kiss you, because he liked you.

He pulled back softly, his eyes never leaving your face. His cheeks were tinted pink, and he moved slowly. 

He brought his hand up, offering it to you. You took it gently, and he pulled you up, so you were both facing each other now.

“Things’ll work out. I-I promise...” he spoke so softly, you almost couldn’t hear it.

You nodded, truly believing him. Without hesitation, you pulled him in for another hug, wrapping your arms around him tightly. You wanted to stay here forever. His warm embrace made you feel fuzzy inside, and you smiled slightly. 

“A-And ___?” he spoke.

You pulled back,”Yeah?”

“I’ll finish your essay for you, you need sleep,” he suggested. 

Oh good god, you had really fallen for this boy. You could only graciously accept, handing him your ECHO. He smiled softly at you, before he began typing. 

You sat in silence, save for Rhys’s fingers swiftly typing up your essay. You leaned against his arm, resting your head on his shoulder. 

Your eyes grew tired looking at the bright screen, and soon enough, you were out. The last thing you remembered was watching Rhys’s fingers go wild on the holographic keyboard.

Though you fell asleep, Rhys continued typing your essay, finishing it at roughly 12 AM. He closed your ECHO down, craning his neck to see that you had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Fuck, did he think you were cute. He gently laid you down on the couch, putting a fuzzy blanket over you. He plugged in your ECHO and your phone, charging them both. Before leaving, he wrote a message on a sticky note, and stuck it to your ECHO, as he knew you’d need it in the morning.

‘Finished your essay, see you today at school pencil girl. :)’

He was dead tired, but he didn’t want to sleep at your place. He didn’t know if it would make you uncomfortable or not, and he didn’t know if you actually liked him. 

He wasn’t entirely sure if you kissed him because you felt bad for him, or because you were sad, and needed a distraction. Whichever it was, though, he liked to think that you actually liked him, and that you meant everything behind that kiss.

Maybe he’d find someone that actually liked him.

Maybe one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don’t worry this isn’t the end haha, i have plans for the next chapter :) I love soft Rhys, so I just had to include some.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to talk to Rhys, but something happens. You end up talking to Vaughn about it.

Quiet moans escaped your lips as Rhys softly kissed you, grinding his hips on yours. The kiss grew more frantic, more needy. Deciding to take action into your own hands, you reached downward, gently groping him through his pants. He let out a feathery breath, closing his eyes so tight you thought he’d start crying. His face flushed pink, and he wrapped his arms around your neck. 

You continued groping him, spreading gentle kisses across his face. Rhys was so damn cute. 

Pulling back, you observed him. He let out quiet pants as you pleasured him, his face lit up pink. 

Your alarm on your phone rang loudly, interrupting the sweet—or horny—dream you’d been having. 

You sprang up immediately, the sound pushing all the wrong buttons in your head. Making your way over to your phone, you muted your alarm, and tried to recall what had happened last night.

Rhys came over and fixed your ECHO, that’s right. Then he recovered your missing essay, and—oh. You two kissed. That’s right.

You felt yourself blush slightly at remembering it, the noise he’d made and the way he looked. Would he act different at school today?

You picked up your ECHO, reading the note he’d placed on it. How sweet of him. 

Why didn’t he stay over? You’d have to ask him about it today.

You decided to text him to let you know you got his note.

‘hey rhys!! thank you so much for coming over last night. i really appreciate your help, and your company. :)’

Was that too flirty? Oh well, you’d already hit send.

••

“Exactly right,” your math teacher responded to a student’s answer, then continued on with the problem,”now dividing by three...”

You spaced out, ignoring what she said. Math was probably the easiest subject for you, so it wasn’t like you were missing anything. 

You thought back to last night. What did Rhys do after he finished your essay? He must’ve tucked you in, because you remember falling asleep on him while he was typing. And he’d plugged in your ECHO and your phone. He really was so sweet.

You wondered if that kiss really meant anything. Did he just kiss you because he felt bad that you were crying? Maybe.

Not like you cared or anything ... except you really really did.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you quietly pulled it out. This is why you liked your math class. You sat in the back of the room, as your teacher knew math was easy for you. Meaning you could get on your phone whenever you wanted.

‘Rhys: Text Message’

You smiled to yourself before opening it.

‘it was no problem. i had a really nice time. we should hang out again soon’

Woah, he wanted to hang out again? Then the kiss really did mean something? This boy was something else.

••

“_____, no falling asleep today, right?” Mr.Lawrence commented as he handed you a sheet of paper.

“Right, sir.” You responded.

He smiled pleasantly at you before continuing to pass out papers. Your mind wouldn’t leave you alone, and you kept telling yourself you’d get to see Rhys next period. 

‘Focus on this period moron.’ you told yourself.

You couldn’t fall asleep today. Jack was mad at you yesterday. Oh, right...Jack. Would you go see him today? Maybe it would be better if you waited.

You’d never had Jack snap on you like that before. He’d never slammed his door and left you alone. He was usually the one to console you, and to make jokes that would make you feel better. 

What had changed?

What upset him so much that he did those things? Was it because you broke your ECHO? Those were quite expensive, and since you didn’t really have a parent figure, Jack was the one who payed for your school supplies. 

Maybe it was because you’d talked about Rhys with him. Was he mad? Sad? You honestly couldn’t tell. Jack never really told you how he felt about your issues. He always said it was irrelevant to the situation, and that he was just there for guidance. 

Either way, you didn’t want to see him today. You wanted to give him time to cool off. This also meant that you reeeally shouldn’t fall asleep in class today. 

If you were being honest, you weren’t really that tired. Rhys had finished your essays, meaning you got plenty of sleep. And plenty of wet dreams—woah, not cool, subconscious. Not cool. It wasn’t like you could control your dreams anyway.

Though it was pleasant to think about Rhys all flushed because of you. 

••

Walking into the science room, you smiled brightly as you saw Rhys. Suddenly, his face flushed, and you could hear his breathless pants in your ear. What the hell?

You blinked multiple times, and the image went away. That was ... weird. You really hoped your wet dream wouldn’t get in the way of talking to him today.

You made your way over to your seat, sitting down and turning toward him. Today he wore a black hoodie, and light distressed jeans. Even a simple outfit looked so cute paired with his dark brown hair. 

“Rhys, thank you so much for the help last night,” You started, and he turned toward you as well.

“I-It was no problem. Broken echo’s are annoying, and i’d hate for you to struggle putting it back together,” he smiled.

Just then, Vaughn’s voice entered your left ear, and you turned toward him.

“Woahhh—you went to her place last night Rhys?” He questioned.

Rhys looked flushed,”Yeah, I um...she needed help fixing her echo,” he tried.

“Oh, I think she needed something else too,” Vaughn winked as a joke.

You laughed quietly as Rhys’s whole face flushed pink. You had to admit, blushing Rhys was so damn cute.

“H-Hey! I just helped her fix her echo Vaughn, nothing more, nothing less.” He furrowed his brows.

You stopped laughing, thinking about what he just said. 

Oh.

He’d only come to fix your ECHO. So maybe the kiss didn’t mean anything. What were you expecting anyways? You told yourself you’d focus on school, not some boy. 

“Alright class, today we’ll be working in groups of two. Everyone get a partner, and i’ll assign you a project.” Your teacher spoke.

Groups of two? Oh hell yeah, maybe you could work with Rh-

“___! You wanna be partners?” Vaughn asked you.

You waited for Rhys to interject, but he didn’t. Yikes.

“What about Rhys?” You asked him.

He shrugged,”He’ll work with Yvette,” he pointed to a girl toward the back of the class,”They’ve been friends forever. Plus, we need bonding time bro!” 

You internally cringed at that. Damn. And who was this Yvette girl? 

“So, whaddya say, bro?” Vaughn asked.

You sighed, a bit frustrated that you couldn’t work with Rhys,”Sounds good to me, as long as you don’t say bro too often,” you giggled.

Vaughn’s face flushed pink,”Oh, uh, sorry. It’s a guy thing I guess?”

Your teacher came over and handed you and Vaughn a piece of paper describing your project. A poster board? Oh god, this meant Vaughn would have to come over to work on it. Damn.

Rhys got up, interrupting your thoughts, and walked over to Yvette.

“Hey, Yvette,” he smiled toward her.

She laughed and waved for him to sit down. 

You scowled, eyeing her. Why was she so friendly with him? And why hadn’t he told Vaughn he wanted to work with you?

Did he not want to talk about last night? What was his problem?

“Alright, to get started, I think we should write down ideas,” Vaughn elbowed you.

“Y-Yeah. That’s a good idea,” you half heartedly smiled at him. 

Maybe you could just ignore the fact that you weren’t working with Rhys. 

Maybe if it weren’t for Yvette laughing a little too loud at all of Rhys’s jokes.

••

You walked out of class, Vaughn walking next to you. You waited for Rhys, but he walked out with Yvette, and walked right past you and Vaughn.

“Before we part,” Vaughn started, noticing you were upset about how Rhys had ignored you,”Can I have your number? For the project, obviously,” he smiled.

You nodded and gave him your number. It was obvious Vaughn didn’t like you, so you didn’t see a problem with giving him your number. 

He gave a ‘thanks bro’ before walking away, leaving you by yourself. You sighed. Maybe you should go to Jack’s office—no. He needed space. So did you. You’d probably blow up on him right now, and that was the last thing you needed.

You sighed and continued walking to class, stopping by your locker to grab your psychology note book. That’s when you heard Rhys talking as he passed you.

“It wasn’t anything really, I just helped her fix her echo,” he sounded flustered.

Why was he talking about you? You turned around, ready to stop him, before you saw who he was with. Yvette. So she had asked about you? Interesting.

••

Your last period went by slower than you thought it possibly could. You’d taken your test, and turned it in. Your teacher said you could do whatever you’d like—as long as it was silent—so you pulled out your notebook and started scribbling on the page. 

What surprised you though is that you started drawing Rhys. You remembered the way his soft hair looked the night before, and the way his cheeks tinted pink. You remembered his ECHO-eye and the way it lit up. 

Then you remembered that he partnered up with Yvette for the science project. 

You closed your notebook quickly, not really enjoying thinking about it. Your phone buzzed in your pocket.

‘unknown: Text Message’

You opened it, puzzled on who it could be.

‘hey bro!’ 

Who in the hell...oh. Vaughn. You should’ve been able to tell by the ‘bro’. You typed back,

‘hey vaughn’

He responded within seconds,

‘do you wanna meet up to do the project tonight?’ 

Err...yikes. You really weren’t in the mood to do a project, but you didn’t want to be rude. 

‘sure, where?’ 

You sent back. You were really hoping he didn’t say your house. That’d be...weird. 

He replied,

‘what about that milkshake shop by school?’

You sighed in relief,

‘sounds good. i’ll be there in about 45 minutes’

‘okay bro :)’

Yikes, this was gonna be awkward.

••

You walked into the milkshake shop, spotting Vaughn sitting at a table alone. He waved to you and you walked over to him, sitting down across from him. 

“Hey bro!” He smiled.

“Hey Vaughn,” You sighed.

He must’ve been able to tell that you were upset,”What’s wrong?”

You waved it off,”Nothing, i’m alright. You wanna get started?” 

He nodded, and you two got to work. Eventually, a waiter came over and asked if either of you would like anything, to which Vaughn replied with ‘the biggest milkshake you have’. The waiter raised his eyebrows yet set back to the kitchen to deliver your order. 

Vaughn didn’t think this was a date, right? He said it himself, it was for a project. 

“Um...Vaughn?” You spoke softly as he finished up writing something on the poster board.

He looked up at you,”Yeah?”

Shit...how did you say this without sounding weird? And making it awkward? That probably was inevitable, so here you go.

“This...isn’t a date, right?” You asked.

Vaughn blushed a bit before speaking,”No! No no, it’s just for the project, I mean, unless you wanted it to be—“

You interrupted him,”I don’t, no offense,” you laughed quietly,”I just wanted to make sure we were both on the same page.”

“We are bro, don’t worry,” He smiled at you.

Your waiter walked over and set down a giant glass cup filled with milkshake on your table.

“One straw or two?” He asked.

“Two,” You smiled, you were actually pretty thirsty.

Vaughn raised his eyebrows and blushed as the waiter set the straws on the table and left.

“Two straws?” He asked.

You shrugged,”I’m thirsty,” 

He smiled before sticking his straw in, tasting the dessert.

“Holy crap that’s good,” he smiled.

You quickly put your straw in it, taking a drink. You didn’t want him to drink it all before you could get some, after all.

“Bro, we should totally take a picture! You’re the best science project buddy i’ve ever had!” He grinned.

You questioned his motives, but appeased him,”Sure,”

He took out his phone and snapped a picture of you two, before putting it away and helping you drink the milkshake.

A while had passed, with you two finishing the milkshake quite quickly, and continuing to work on your project. 

You pulled out your notebook, opening it to your notes. That’s when Vaughn spoke.

“___, who is that?” He pointed to your drawing of Rhys.

“N-Nobody! I was just drawing mindlessly,” You tried.

“Mhmmm.. that looks like Rhys if i’ve ever seen him,” he smiled.

You covered up the drawing with your arm, looking at your notes,”Okay, maybe it’s Rhys,” 

He smiled, but decided to leave it alone, knowing you probably wouldn’t elaborate on it. Thank god Vaughn was respectful of personal boundaries.

Your mind began to wonder on Rhys. You wondered how he was doing, and if you should text him. He was probably with Yvette. Ew.

“Vaughn?” You spoke, wanting to ask a question.

“Hm?”

“How does Rhys know Yvette?” You asked.

He practically stopped writing mid-sentence to look up at you.

“They’ve been friends since first grade. They used to go everywhere together, like best friends. Why?” He asked.

You swallowed,”I was just curious. I um...didn’t recognize Yvette or anything...”

“You were thinking about Rhys weren’t you?” He sneered.

You flushed pink,”N-No! I was just wondering who Yvette was!”

“Aaand why were you thinking about Yvette?” He questioned.

You stopped to think about it. ‘Because I know she’s latching onto Rhys and taking him away from me.’ Is what you wanted to say, but maybe Vaughn was Yvette’s friend too. 

“Her and Rhys partnered up in science...” you spoke, almost to yourself.

Vaughn looked confused,”Wait-did you want to partner up with Rhys? Oh god, i’m so sorry,” he began apologizing.

“It’s alright Vaughn, really,” You reassured him,”He probably doesn’t wanna talk to me anyways.” 

“Why..?”

You hesitated,”When he came over last night, he um...he kissed me.” 

Vaughn sat there for a moment, looking shocked. Yikes.

“I knew it!” He whisper-yelled,”Rhys totally likes you!”

You laughed,”I don’t know. He seemed pretty happy with Yvette in the hall.” Your expression dropped.

They’d been friends longer anyways. 

“He definitely doesn’t like Yvette. I promise,” he reassured you.

You nodded and continued to work on the project. Maybe Rhys actually liked you.

You hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you’re enjoying !! I’m trying to keep this updated <3


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys finds out you like him, and vise versa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii ! i’m really sorry this took so long to publish, my gecko’s UVB bulb went out and i had to go to like 80 thousand stores to find a new one :”( i hope this chapter is good enough aaa

Your phone woke you with it’s vibrating, but this time, not because of an alarm. You picked it up, not expecting to see Vaughn calling you. Especially at...what time is it...3 AM?

You answered it quickly, figuring something must be wrong.

“Hello?” You asked.

“Bro, hey! Sorry it’s like...three in the morning, but I have news on Rhys,” he sounded excited.

What?

“News? What do you mean Vaughn?” You groggily rubbed your eyes with your free hand.

“He asked me how our project was going, so I told him we went to the milkshake shop to get it done. He thought I was lying, so I showed him the picture I took,” 

What was important about the picture?

“...and he got upset. He started freaking out, saying how you probably thought it was a date, and how he thought I liked you.”

Oh. That.

“Is he crazy?” You responded,”No offense, Vaughn, but I only like you as a friend,” 

Vaughn chuckled on the other end,”Yeah, I know. That’s what I told him. I even told him you made sure it wasn’t a date. That seemed to cool him down a bit, but he’s still suuuuper pissed at me.” 

“I don’t know what I can do to help—“ 

You were interrupted as you heard Vaughn speak,”O-Oh! Rhys! I wasn’t talking to anyone,” he calmly stated.

Hm. You might as well listen to what Rhys had to say.

“I don’t care if you were talking to someone, Vaughn. I just-how could you do this? You know I like her, and you went on a date with her? With the one girl that shows interest in me?” He sounded hurt.

‘Yvette shows plenty of interest in you.’ You thought.

“Rhys, she made sure it wasn’t a date. I don’t know what else I can say to change your mind...” He trailed off for a second, before speaking,”She had drawn a picture of you, bro! In her notes! It was definitely you. I asked her about it, and she admitted to it. Obviously she was thinking about you,” he tried.

“I feel like you’re just saying that to make me feel better,” you heard Rhys sigh, and assumed he’d calmed down a bit.

“I’m not just saying that, Rhys. Oh! She asked about you and Yvette. She wanted to know how long you two had known each other. She was upset, Rhys,” Vaughn spoke quietly.

You heard Rhys’s voice crack,”U-Upset? Why?” 

“She wanted to partner up with you for the project. I asked her to be partners and you didn’t even interject, bro. You made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal.” 

‘Took the words right out of my mouth Vaughn.’ You spoke to yourself.

There was silence, and then Rhys spoke,”I...I didn’t know if she’d wanna talk to me after I came over to her house. We—“

“Kissed. I know. She likes you, Rhys. A lot. Please trust me.” That was the most sincere you’d ever heard Vaughn speak.

More silence. 

“She...likes me? Are you sure?” Rhys asked.

“I’m sure.”

Even more silence, and then a long sigh.

“I—how do I tell her? I really, really like her, Vaughn. I didn’t know I upset her. God, now I feel terrible, I upset the cutest girl I know, and she probably hates me,” Rhys sounded genuinely upset.

You felt bad for listening in on their conversation, but hearing that Rhys liked you back was more than enough to make you happy. 

Maybe you should hang up...? You felt guilty for listening to their conversation. You lifted your finger to hang up, and then you heard,

“She knows, Rhys. She just heard you.” From Vaughn.

You inhaled a sharp breath. Vaughn just gave you away. You heard a shuffle, and then Rhys.

“H-Hey, ___...” You could hear the blush in his voice.

You smiled to yourself,”Hey Rhys,” 

His voice was soft, so soft you barely heard it,”Y-You heard me?”

“Yeah,” You responded quietly.

There was a moment of silence, in which you were trying to grasp the reality of this situation. Rhys Strongfork admitted he liked you. He got upset because he thought you liked someone else. And now you were talking to him.

“I don’t know what to say...o-other than sorry about the science project. I-I-I know you wanted to be partners now. I’m sorry. I didn’t know if you actually kissed me because you liked me, or because you felt bad for me, and I-“

You interrupted him,”Rhys, it’s alright. I kissed you because I like you.” 

You heard him inhale softly, before speaking,”I-I like you too. Is that okay? C-Can I say that?”

You chuckled,”Of course it’s okay. It’s just...It’s kinda 3 AM, and we have school tomorrow,” 

“Oh yeah. Sorry,” he laughed quietly on his end, the warm sound sending a hug to your heart.

His laugh was so cute, the way he breathlessly giggled. 

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay Rhys?” You made sure to speak quietly.

“O-Okay. Goodnight,” he smiled.

“Goodnight Rhys,” you chuckled, before ending the call.

Holy shit, that was a lot to take in. Rhys liked you back. He told you he liked you. He even apologized for the science partner situation. Though it was a lot to think about, your eyelids felt heavy, and your head began to droop forwards. You closed your eyes slowly, leaning backward into your soft bed. You knew you had to get to sleep, because you had school waiting for you tomorrow.

And Rhys.

••

Ahh Friday, the best day of the school week. Especially because today you got to see the boy who admitted to liking you last night.

You walked to your locker, Amara running up to you and smiling.

“Any news on Rhys?” She asked eagerly.

You nodded slightly and blushed,”Soo much tea,” you started.

And then you told her everything. You told her about Vaughn and the science project, and then about the phone call. Rhys called you cute. He said he liked you. God, that was so weird to think about.

“Oh. My. God.” Amara breathlessly laughed,”I knew it! You two are gonna be suuuch a cute couple,” she smiled.

You rolled your eyes,”I think he’ll be the cute one of the couple,” you joked.

“Oh shut up!” Amara joked,”You’re pretty and you know it, ____. Speaking of which, are you going to Justin’s party?”

You were confused,”What does being pretty have to do with Justin’s party?”

She rolled her eyes,”We all know why he’s called ‘pretty boy Justin’, don’t we?”

Ohhh yeah. Justin—er—‘pretty boy Justin’ was the schools cutest jock. He had a rager every now and then, and he was having one tonight. You’d completely forgotten about it until Amara brought it up to you. 

“I guess,” you sighed,”I might go, if I have someone to go with,” 

Amara stopped you, looking you dead in the eyes.

“Do you know how dumb you sound right now?” She asked.

What?

“Uh...no?” 

“Rhys will go with you! You are so clueless sometimes...” she laughed. 

The five minute bell rang, indicating that you had to get to class.

“Maybe,” you waved to her, walking off to your first period.

••

You sat in math, your mind continuing to wonder. Would Rhys really wanna go to that party with you? You didn’t really take him as a party boy. Maybe he’d go for you, though.

But then again...you didn’t want him to go just because you wanted to go. Okay, maybe you needed to slow down a little bit. You two hadn’t even talked yet. Maybe you should text him? Yeah, you should.

You slowly pulled out your phone, texting him,

‘good morning :)’ 

That was good, right? He texted back three times,

‘hi!’

‘wait, good morning, you didn’t say hi’

‘i’m so dumb i’m sorry’

You chuckled to yourself. He was so cute.

“So ____, what’s the answer?” Your math teacher snapped you out of your thoughts.

You hid your phone quickly,”Um...” you scrambled, looking for the answer on your paper,”...no solution? An inequality can’t be equal to negative one,” you took a guess.

Your teacher looked surprised,”Correct.”

Okay, maybe putting your grades in jeopardy for a text wasn’t the best thing to do. Focus on math, focus on math. 

Okay, how can you not focus on the hella cute boy texting you? 

You zoned out, your mind settling on the one kiss you two had shared. His hair and lips were so soft, and his hug was so warm... you’d kill for another warm hug. Maybe you’d ask him for one today. 

••

English. Just one more period before you got to see Rhys. You could feel your knee subconsciously bouncing, and you had good reason. You were nervous. 

At any given moment, he could just say ‘sike, i don’t like you’ and you’d be ruined. But you didn’t think he’d do that...or at least you’d hoped.

Mr.Lawrence spoke,”_____, my desk please?”

What’d you do this time? 

You got up slowly and approached his desk, the class working silently behind you.

“___, i’d like to discuss your essay on technology,” he spoke.

“What about it, Mr.Lawrence?” You asked.

He took a moment to find the words,”It is...incredible. This is probably one of the best essays i’ve seen in all my years of teaching,” he smiled.

You weren’t that good at writing, so why was it so good?

Ohh, Rhys finished it for you. Damn, he was cute and good at writing? What a catch. 

“Thank you, sir.” You smiled.

You’d have to thank Rhys next period.

••

Your favorite subject: science. Well...maybe the subject wasn’t your favorite, but the class sure was. Solely because of Rhys, of course.

You walked in, smiling to yourself as you saw Rhys fidgeting with a pencil. Vaughn looked up at you, giving you a supportive smile and thumbs up. You returned his smile before sitting down between them. 

Silence.

Okay...how were you supposed to start? Did you just say hi like you did every other day? Okay, one, two...

“Hi,” You both said in unison.

“W-Wait sorry, you go first,” Rhys blushed, stuttering.

You laughed,”No, you go first,” 

He shook his head,”Nope,”

As you were about to speak, a certain person you didn’t favor too much walked up to Rhys.

Yvette.

“Rhys, we have to finish up our project, come sit with me,” she smiled toward him.

Oh hell no, you weren’t about to let her do this again-

“Didn’t we finish it last night? You can finish up the small stuff by yourself,” Rhys smiled at her.

She nodded and walked back to her seat. 

Oh. 

Rhys told her no.

He turned toward you once more, smiling,”Y-“

“Alright class, silent work today. I want nobody talking.” Your teacher interrupted him.

Damn, couldn’t side characters let you get through one conversation?

Nope.

The whole class nodded and began to work, including you and Rhys. It was...awkward, to say the least. Sitting in silence next to the boy who told you he liked you. You decided to break the awkwardness by texting him.

‘the day she chose for silent work is so inconvenient :(‘

He looked surprised you texted him, but he replied,

‘right? she’s the type of person to get just plain pickle frogurt. gross.’

You chuckled quietly and looked at him. His face had a beautiful pink blush spread across it, and he was silently laughing.

‘i...didn’t know there was pickle flavored frogurt’ you responded.

‘well now you know :^)’

You smiled at him before continuing to work, and then texting him back.

‘i guess so. can we talk at my locker after this period?’

He responded,

‘of course we can’

You smiled at him before putting your phone down, and working. This was going to be an antagonizing 45 minutes of silence.

••

The bell rang, and just as quick as you’d stood up, you were out of the room, Rhys at your side. He followed you to your locker, and you couldn’t help but think about the first day of school, when this had happened for the first time.

His presence beside you made you feel safe, and warm. You smiled, stopping at your locker and turning toward him.

“Now that we can talk,” you laughed,”I just wanna say it to you. I like you Rhys...a lot.” You flushed pink.

Within seconds, his arms were wrapped around you, and you were once again, in a warm hug. You closed your eyes and smiled, leaning against him.

“I like you too,” he spoke softly, his hands gently rubbing your back. 

“Get a rooooom,” Vaughn jokingly yelled at you two.

You pulled back from the hug and laughed, observing Rhys. He was completely pink now, his gaze never reaching yours. He was so cute when he was nervous.

“I gotta go to psychology,” you smiled toward him,”but you can walk me there if you’d like?”

“Y-Yeah! I’d love to! Er—like to, is more acceptable...maybe?” He trailed off. 

You laughed,”Cmon you dork,”

“Heyyyy,” he sounded fake hurt.

You smiled, Rhys walking you to your last period. You two stood outside of the door, Rhys never looking you in the eyes. You respected that he was nervous, so you went in for a hug.

He returned the hug gratefully, tightening his grip around you. You could stay like this forever, but you separated from him.

“See you later, Rhys,” you smiled.

“Y-Yeah, see you later,” he smiled back.

••

You smiled to yourself, opening the door to your house. 

“Rhys likes meee, Rhys likes meee,” you sang to yourself while you made your way to your kitchen.

You decided you’d make a bowl of ice cream to snack on. (y/f/f), of course. 

You sat down with your bowl of ice cream and got your phone out, deciding to text Rhys.

‘hey !! are you going to justin’s party?’

It was either now or never, and you’d prefer now.

‘i was planning on it, i guess’ 

Oh, sweet.

‘okay! can we go together? if that’s okay with you’ you responded.

‘of course we can :)’ 

You smiled to yourself, imagining what would be happening later that night. Would Rhys drink at all? Maybe he was one of those ‘i pledged to stay sober’ kids? You’d have to find out at the party.

You texted Rhys one more time,

‘oh, and thank you so much for finishing my essay. mr.lawrence said it was “one of the best he’d ever seen” or something like that’ 

He responded quickly,

‘it was no problem :) and id call you a pretty good writer too, when i was revising your essay i barely did any work’ 

You smiled at his compliment,

‘hmm...not as good as you’

You continued to eat your ice cream, waiting for him to text back.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get some alone time with Rhys, and someone comes to visit. Something is made official, and Rhys couldn’t be more happy about it !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii ! i have big plans for the next chapter, and i’m super sorry it took this long to update this !! writing is kinda hard >.<

Your phone buzzed, waking you up abruptly. How many times were you gonna wake up like this?

Oh well.

You picked up your phone, seeing it was Rhys calling. Oh. You answered swiftly.

“H-Hey!” Rhys spoke, clearly excited.

“Mmm...g’morning..” you grumbled, wiping your eyes.

“Oh no, did I wake you up? I’m sorry-“

“It’s alright Rhys, i’d rather it be you than anyone else,” you interrupted him, not wanting him to feel bad. 

You swore you could hear the smile in his voice,”O-Okay. I was calling to ask if you wanted to um...hang out before Justin’s party tonight? I-If you want. We don’t have to,” 

You smiled,”That sounds great. I’m gonna eat breakfast and shower, but i’ll leave the door unlocked for you, okay?” 

There was a slight pause, and then he responded,”Okay!” 

“Bye Rhys,” 

“B-Bye!” 

Then he hung up. 

Well, he was coming over sooner or later, meaning you had to get dressed, and eat. You decided you’d eat after you showered, as you weren’t too hungry at the moment.

You sighed and stood up off of the couch, making your way to your room. The scent of vanilla entered your nose and you inhaled gratefully. Making your way to your closet, you picked out your outfit carefully, knowing you had to impress Rhys. Or did you? He probably didn’t care, but it wouldn’t hurt to put thought into your outfit. 

A hoodie? Maybe, it was really comfy...but you were going to a party, a rager. So maybe no hoodie. What abouuut...oh! One of your favorite t-shirts! It was brand new, and it was a crop top. Yikes, you didn’t wanna wear a crop top to a rager. So back to the hoodie. You pulled it out of your closet, it wasn’t too flashy or too boring. 

Just a black hoodie with your last name on the back, and your school’s logo really small in the upper right. This would work. You grabbed a pair of jeans, some panties, and a bra, and made your way to the shower. 

••

You relished the way the hot water ran down your skin as you rinsed out your conditioner. Your mind wandered, and you began to think about Rhys. 

He was so precious, yet you couldn’t stop thinking about what would’ve happened if that kiss went farther. If he slid his hands down around your hips, and squeezed them lightly. If he began to pepper kisses down your neck, maybe even giving you a hickey. 

Aaaand that’s when you decided to take the shower head down, and turn it to ‘heavy spray’. 

You kept thinking about Rhys, and if you were being honest with yourself, the fact that you were so horny over him right now was slightly embarrassing. 

“Mhm, Rhysss,” You whined to yourself, the shower head buzzing against your clit. 

You wondered if he would be gentle or forceful when he used his fingers, and how he would act. His face would be bright red, and he’d make delicious noises as he pleasured you. 

Then you began to remember that noise you’d heard him make when you two kissed. That did it for you, your orgasm rushing through you as you cried out Rhys’s name over, and over, and over again. 

Cleaning yourself up, you got out of the shower and dried off, quickly throwing on your panties and bra. 

Just then, your bathroom door came flying open.

“____! What’s wrong! I-“ Rhys spoke hurriedly, realizing you weren’t completely dressed,”Oh my god i’m s-so sorry!” He yelled, slamming the bathroom door shut. 

You laughed out loud while continuing to get dressed, and then opened the door. Rhys was leaned against the wall, his whole face lit up pink.

“What were you saying?” You asked him.

He swallowed, and turned to face you,”I heard you yelling my name, so I ran up here as fast as I could, I thought you needed help, and-“

“Oh!” You involuntarily spoke,”I’m uh- sorry, i’m sorry, it was nothing. Just uh...singing! You know me, singing,” You blushed.

He lifted a brow,”...singing? O-Okay...” 

You could tell he didn’t believe it, but he chose to stop talking about it. You grabbed his hand and led him downstairs to the kitchen.

“I’m gonna make waffles, you want some?” You asked.

He stood by the opposite wall,”S-Sure...”

You smiled toward him and began making your waffles, realizing he was still standing against the opposite wall.

“Rhys, you know you can sit down, right?” You chuckled.

“Sorry,” He shook his head,”I’m still kinda...processing that I walked in on you like—that—“ he blushed.

You giggled quietly,”It’s alright, really.”

“You um...” he trailed off, mumbling to himself.

You turned toward him, spatula in hand,”You trailed off Rhys, what’d you say?” 

“I said um...” he blushed,”You uh...you looked really beautiful,” 

You felt your own cheeks light up at his compliment,”Thank you,” you smiled, returning to your waffles.

“N-Not um, not in the ‘i only was looking at your body way’,” He clarified.

You giggled,”Well thank you. It means a lot.” 

“Y-Yeah,” he scratched his head.

••

You took another bite out of your waffle, watching Rhys smile.

“These are so good!” He smiled before taking another bite.

You grinned,”They should be, I followed the instructions on the box soo...” you giggled.

His face lit up red,”O-Oh yeah. Well, they’re only good cause you made them,” he tried.

You felt yourself slightly blush,”Well thank you, Rhys,”

He only nodded before continuing to eat, finishing his waffles and downing a glass of water. You finished soon after him, and you could tell he didn’t like the awkward silence, due to the fact that he kept trying to make small talk.

“Sorry I uh...I asked you about going to Mr.Hyperion’s office the other day,” he apologized.

You stood up and grabbed his plate, walking to the sink,”It’s not a big deal, you were curious. You probably care about me more than he does, anyway...” You sighed, rinsing off both of your plates. 

It was silent for a moment, before you felt him standing beside you,”W-What do you mean?”

You dried your hands off and turned to face him,”The day I broke my echo, he yelled at me. He’s never done that before. He hasn’t tried to call me down to his office either. He obviously just doesn’t care about me anymore.” You spoke coldly.

Rhys timidly wrapped his arms around you, embracing you in a hug,”...Well I care about you. A lot, actually...” he smiled,”...a-and i’m sure Jack isn’t that upset. Maybe he’s giving you time to cool off,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” you sighed.

You hugged him back, grateful for the act of kindness. Rhys really was a sweetheart. 

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” You suggested, feeling bad for bringing up a negative thought.

You felt him nod his head softly, before speaking,”Y-Yeah, but...can we stay like this for a little bit longer?”

You laughed quietly,”Of course we can Rhys,” 

You hugged him tighter, burying your face in his neck. You experimentally gave him a light, feathery kiss on his neck out of affection, and the noise you’d pulled out of him made you want to do so much more than that. 

He groaned quietly before mumbling,”H-Hey...”

You giggled before breaking the hug, now gazing into his eyes. You would never get over how damn cool that ECHO-eye of his was, and how handsome it made him look. You slowly moved forward, connecting your mouth to his. 

He gratefully accepted the kiss, gently kissing you back. You could tell before he’d first kissed you, that he’d never had any prior experience. But that was okay, because holy shit was it cute. He timidly pulled back, his face flushed pink.

“We can watch the movie now...” He trailed off.

You smiled before taking his hand, and leading him into your living room.

••

You lay across Rhys’s lap, watching him watch the movie. You’d seen the movie he’d picked out hundreds of times, it was one of your favorite. So you’d opted to watch Rhys experience it for the first time. 

His eyes flickered every once in a while, his ECHO-eye lighting up blue when the exciting parts took place. He’d glance down at you every once in a while, smiling at you before returning his attention to the movie. 

You’d, of course, asked if it was okay if you’d lay where you were. You didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, and so far, he seemed completely okay with it. 

“____?” Your name came out of his mouth as a question.

You looked up at him, locking eyes,”Yeah?”

He swallowed,”I um...I never really got to ask you this. I-If you don’t want to it’s okay, and I don’t even know if I should be asking, b-but...” he trailed off.

“Rhys,” you smiled toward him, grasping one of his hands in yours,”You can ask me anything.” 

He returned your smile, before speaking,”A-Alright...um...will you go out with me?” 

You practically squealed in excitement and nodded your head,”Of course I will!”

He smiled brightly before advancing on you, leaning downward and connecting his lips with yours. You gasped at the sudden movement, but kissed him back. He smiled into the kiss, his hands coming down to the sides of your face. 

You sighed into his mouth as he gently pushed his tongue against you, almost as if asking for permission. You smiled and nodded your head, kissing him full on now. 

His robotic hand slowly made its way down your body, stopping at your breasts to give them a small amount of attention. You moaned as he squeezed one of your breasts. He moved his mouth from your own mouth, to your neck, gently peppering kisses across it. 

His phone ringing entered your ears as he pulled it out, and hit mute. Your mind took a second to wonder who it was, if it was Yvette. Rhys tore your mind from these thoughts, though.

You panted quietly as his hand made its way down to the hem of your jeans. He pulled back, his face flushed as he spoke.

“I-Is this okay?” He asked.

You nodded vigorously before pleading,”Please,”

He dipped his hand down into your jeans, running his cold, metal fingers over your clit, on top of your panties. You moaned, instantly arching your back, as if trying to get closer to him. 

You could hear him inhale sharply before gently pushing his first finger against your sex, his mouth continuing to nip and kiss at your neck. 

You whined at the lack of friction, trying your hardest to grind down onto his finger. 

“Rhysss,” you whined.

He paused, maybe afraid he’d hurt you,”Y-Yeah? Are you okay?”

You nodded your head, whining once more,”More please,” 

His face flushed pink as he nodded, slipping his fingers underneath your panties. Two of his fingers pushed up against your sex now, the cold metal making you shiver.

Somehow, the cold factor of this made it that much more arousing.

Without warning, his fingers started vibrating against you. You let out a long moan, throwing your head back.

“Oh goddd—“ 

He began to rub circles on your sensitive bundle of nerves, the vibration of his fingers speeding up the building heat in your stomach.

You heard his voice above you, quiet, yet sure,”You’re so pretty...” 

You blushed, arching into him more. He continued his ministrations on your sex, rubbing circles quickly. You moaned quietly, bringing you hands up to cradle his face, before running a hand through his chestnut hair. 

He leaned down, licking one spot on your neck, before sucking on it gently. That did it for you, your vision going white as you came undone.

“Fuckk—oh my god Rhys—“ You gasped for air, the vibrations of his fingers stopping.

He pulled his hand out of your pants quickly, watching your facial expressions to make sure you were okay.

That was when a ‘knock-knock’ sounded at your door.

You and Rhys exchanged surprised glances, before you helped him smooth his hair down, and he made sure you looked ‘normal’.

You both made your way to the door, and you opened it slowly. Rhys stood behind you, in case one of your friends was at the door.

It was Vaughn. 

Awkwaaaard.

“____! Have you seen Rhys? He’s not answering his phone, and it’s really worrying me—“ He started, but was cut off as Rhys peeked out from behind you.

“There you are!” Vaughn laughed, inviting himself in. 

He walked inside, shutting the door behind him, and making his way to your kitchen. O...kay. You shrugged it off as just a Vaughn thing.

“Uh...Vaughn, buddy? What are you doing?” Rhys asked, following his friend to your kitchen.

You sighed and decided to follow, watching as Vaughn opened your fridge.

“Ummm eating? What does it look like,” he laughed, grabbing a pudding cup from your fridge.

Rhys furrowed his brows, walking up to his friend and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“That was really rude, bro,” Rhys said.

You laughed in your head at his use of ‘bro’ in this situation.

Vaughn looked confused,”...what?” 

“You just knocked on her door, invited yourself in, and now you’re eating her food without even asking.” Rhys’s tone was serious, nothing like you’d heard before.

You stood a bit away, astonished at the fact that Rhys was getting on Vaughn about this. 

“Oh...Yeah you’re right. I’m sorry bro,” Vaughn sighed before apologizing, then looking at you.

You shrugged,”It’s...alright. You can have the pudding cup if you want,” 

“Oh sick! Thanks bro!” He smiled before opening it.

Rhys walked over to the counter, leaning on it and watching Vaughn eat the pudding cup. His face had an irritated look to it, and you could tell something was going on in his head. 

“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” Vaughn asked him casually.

“I uh—“ he glanced at you, his face growing pink before he looked back at his friend,”I was hanging out with ___. We were watching a movie,” He smiled.

“Ohhh, my bad,” Vaughn finished his pudding cup, and threw it in the trash.

He made his way to the front door, waving at you two as he opened it to leave. 

“See you guys at the party tonight?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Rhys responded quickly, before shutting the door in Vaughn’s face.

He made his way over to you, his cheeks flushed pink. He hung his head as he walked toward you, an almost embarrassed look flushing over his face.

“Sorry about Vaughn...” he trailed off, hugging you.

You were puzzled but hugged him back,”What do you mean?” 

He hugged you tighter and sighed,”H-He just...barged in. A-And ruined the moment.” 

You chuckled quietly,”It’s alright. I mean, we can finish what we started if you uh...if you want to,” You gently kissed his neck.

He said nothing but nodded his head, clutching closer to you. You continued to press kisses against the soft skin of his neck, never hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to be felt. You ran one hand through his hair, pulling back to look into his eyes. His cheeks were tinted pink, and his hair looked so cute when you ruffled it. 

You ran the other hand down his chest, stopping at the hem of his jeans. 

“You are so cute Rhys...” You whispered to him, before connecting your mouths.

He moaned into your mouth, kissing you back furiously.

You dipped your hand under his jeans and boxers, stroking what you could at this angle. From what you could tell, Rhys had an average sized dick, which you were okay with. You hoped he wasn’t insecure about it. Well...if he was, you’d just have to tell him how much he means to you even more than you already do. 

He let out a quiet moan and threw his head back as you stroked him, his cheeks lighting up pink. You increased your pace, deciding to tease him a bit more.

“Fu—Fuck...” He gasped, before speaking,”____, the—“ 

You stopped, wanting to make sure he was alright.

“The what, Rhys?”

“The time,” 

Oh, shit. You took your hand out of his pants and turned to look at the clock on the stove, the one he’d seen. There was an hour until the party started. You laughed, turning back toward Rhys.

“Being on time matters that much to you?”

He blushed and shrugged,”I-I just thought you might wanna get ready...”

You laughed and hugged him, embracing him tightly. Rhys really was the sweetest.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Rhys attend the party, and some words are shared that don’t make you too happy. You end up pretty happy in the end, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi ! this took quite a bit and i’m terribly sorry, I just had writers block for the longest time. Also this isn’t the last chapter, don’t worry :)

“Rhyyyyys?” You called out to your now boyfriend, from your bedroom.

You heard little thumps on the ground as he made his way up the stairs before appearing at your door.

“Yeah?” He asked.

You turned toward him, sighing,”I couldn’t get my eyeliner even. It’s pissing me off...” 

He nervously looked at the ground, faintly speaking,”If it makes you feel better...I-uh...I didn’t notice,” 

You smiled slightly, his nervousness making him that much more cute. 

“Do I look okay?” You asked him, standing up.

His eyes gradually swept over you, a smile spreading across his face,”You look beautiful,”

You flashed a smile at him, before making your way over toward him,”Thanks Rhysie,” You embraced him in a hug.

He returned the hug, his grasp warm, but gentle. He smiled, knowing you couldn’t see him, and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath, relishing the amazing smelling perfume you’d put on. He thought you were perfect.

“We should leave,” You broke the hug, picking up your car keys from your night stand.

He nodded before following you downstairs,”I-I left my hoodie in my car, is it okay if I grab it?” He asked.

“Of course you can grab it Rhys,” You smiled,”You don’t have to ask, y’know...”

He trailed off,”I just didn’t know how big of a rush we were in...”

—

You glanced to your right every so often, Rhys sitting in your passenger seat. He’d grabbed a black Thrasher hoodie from his car, now wearing that and some light distressed jeans. You didn’t take Rhys to be the skater type, maybe he just liked the hoodie?

“Rhys?” 

He looked over at you, half to answer you, and half to make sure you were paying attention to the road.

“Hm?”

“Do you skate?” You asked.

He paused for a second,”I um...I think it’s cool. Vaughn is trying to teach me how, b-but i’m terrible...” he laughed quietly.

“We should learn together!” You suggested.

He smiled,”I would like that.” 

“It’s settled then,” You said before turning up the radio.

Rhys had plugged his phone into the aux, and after skipping multiple embarrassing songs such as ‘Candy Shop’ by 50 Cent, and the opening song for an anime you weren’t sure you knew, he’d settled on playing some quiet Lofi music. 

With the given songs that’d played you could tell him music taste was...’diverse’ to say the least, but you respected it.

—

“(Y/N)! You made it!” Amara shouted through the crowd of people in the lawn of the party house.

You smiled and waved at her, and saw she’d lifted a brow.

“Who’re you waiting o-“ She paused as she saw Rhys,”Oh my god!” 

You laughed nervously as she approached you two, running toward Rhys.

“Rhys! Hi, I’m Amara!” She smiled.

He looked at you awkwardly before smiling,”H-Hi, um...how do you know me?” 

She turned toward you, pointing her finger,”Ms (Y/L/N) here has been talking quite a bit about you...” 

“Oh shut it Amara!” You fake punched her.

She shrugged,”It’s the truth,” 

Rhys’s face flushed as you shoo’ed Amara away, and grasped his hand. 

“Sorry about her...” You trailed off.

He smiled as you two made your way to the entrance of the house,”...You talk about me?”

You gulped,”In the good way! But yeah... a lot.” 

He chuckled quietly before opening the door for you, letting you in first. 

This was gonna be fun.

—

You two had found solo cups somehow and gotten drinks, and were now sitting on a couch, next to a couple making out. Yikes.

Neither of you took notice to the couple though, you were deep in conversation under the booming music and purple LED lights. 

“So you told Vaughn?” He asked, taking another drink.

You smiled,”Yeah, when we were working on our project. Speaking of which,” You sighed,”Did you think that I liked Vaughn?”

He sat quietly for a moment, before grabbing one of your hands,”I-I did. You went to the ice cream shop with him, and I guess I convinced myself that you didn’t like me...”

You frowned and grasped his hand back, before leaning in for a quick kiss.

“I do like you, Rhys,” you giggled.

He chuckled,”Y-Yeah. I know that now.”

An unpleasant—and honestly unwanted—voice made you cringe,”Rhyyys!” 

Yvette.

Rhys turned toward her, waving hi,”Hey, Yvette,”

She turned her head toward you, raising an eyebrow,”...And who’s this?”

You could tell she’d had a couple of drinks by the slur in her voice. 

“(Y/N)...from science class?” Rhys responded.

You sat and took another drink.

“Ohh yeah. You partnered up with Vaughn, right? How’d that go for you? Did you score?” She winked at you.

“Wh-No. Vaughn and I are friends. Just friends.” You cringed.

She rolled her eyes,”Mhmmm...Why’d you two come together?” She asked.

You decided you should let Rhys answer, as he was her friend.

He swallowed,”W-We’re uh...’a thing’ now...”

Yvette glances from you to him, and then back to you,”...’A thing?’” She air-quoted with her fingers,”You’re dating?”

You smiled and nodded. 

Apparently she didn’t like this, as her face formed a scowl,”Oh.”

She walked away.

You looked at Rhys and raised an eyebrow before speaking,”Hm. Guess I was right...” You trailed off.

“W-What?” 

You shrugged,”Yvette likes you. Did you just see that look she gave you?” 

He blushed,”I-I don’t think she does. We’ve been friends forever, it’d be weird if she liked me...”

You shrugged it off, deciding not to upset yourself or him. 

—

Oh no. Rhys was having a panic attack. 

A couple minutes prior a girl had tried to hit on him, and after multiple times of telling her he wasn’t interested, she tried to force herself on him.

He was shaking, and almost to the point of tears. You set your cup down, forgetting about it, before helping him to his feet. You looked around, spotting an open bedroom door, before heading toward it. 

You got Rhys inside of the room before shutting the door, and sitting by his side on the bed. He was shaking, his face pale.

“Rhys? I need you to focus, okay?” You asked him.

He nodded, his eyes watering.

“Is there anything that makes you feel better at times like this?” You asked calmly.

Truth be told, you were scared as hell. You didn’t know how to help him, everybody was different. Your methods might not work for him. 

He shook his head, pulling out his phone. You watched him closely as he handed it to you.

“C-Call Uncle Zayn...” he sniffled, shaking.

He was shaking uncontrollably now, barely able to hold his phone. You thought the request was a bit odd, but you decided to go through with it. You’d do anything for Rhys. 

You tapped his uncle’s picture before the phone rang.

A highly accented voice answered,”Rhys? What’re you callin’ me for?” 

You were taken back but spoke,”Uh...hi. This is um...Rhys’s girlfriend...” You trailed off, before glancing at Rhys. He was pale as a ghost,”...I don’t really have time to explain, but Rhys is having a panic attack. I asked him how I could help and he told me to call you...?”

You instantly heard sorrow in the australian man’s voice,”Ah shit. Rhysie’s been havin’ these damn things since he was a wee lad. Here’s what you gotta do...” 

Zayn had explained everything step by step, and over a long period of time, you’d got Rhys to stop shaking. He reached for his phone, and you obliged, handing it to him.

He sniffled,”Z-Zayn?” 

A pause for a moment, and then he spoke,”T-Thanks for helping (y/n). I’m a little busy at the moment, b-but I can talk to you later and explain, okay?” 

You’d assumed he’d said ‘okay’, as Rhys followed up with,”Okay. T-Thank you. I love you too. Bye,”

There was a brief moment where neither of you said anything. You wanted to make sure Rhys was okay, and right now you weren’t too sure. 

That is, before he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around you. 

“Thank you...” he sniffled.

You sighed, returning the hug,”No problem,”

You two sat there for a while in an embrace, your mind whirling. Would he feel bad about what happened? Would he be embarrassed? And who was Zayn? He definitely didn’t sound related to Rhys, but he’d referred to him as his uncle. You’d have to ask later.

You decided to test something, your lips moving to kiss the soft skin of his neck. After a couple of kisses, he practically melted into your touch, leaning more toward you. You continued to spread soft kisses on his neck, savoring how warm and gentle his skin was.

You shivered abruptly as you felt his cold hands go beneath your hoodie, gently skimming over your skin. His metallic hand was icy-cold, but you didn’t mind. 

You’d pulled backward only to connect your lips to his, now hungrily kissing him. He gently squeezed your sides before running his hands up to your breasts, and squeezed them.

“Mmh...” You moaned into the kiss, your hands gently holding the sides of his head. 

You pushed him down into the bed with caution, watching his facial expression. He smiled as you leaned down toward him. You brought your lips to his neck once more, gently nipping and kissing it. He sighed contently as you ran your hands down his hoodie, and up underneath the fabric.

You grazed your fingers over his nipples, before gently raking your nails down his stomach. He had muscles, which surprised you. They weren’t really visible with the clothing he wore, but they were definitely there. And so was that delectable V-line he had. 

You licked your lips as you pulled his hoodie over his head, along with his shirt he had on underneath. You tossed them on the floor before gently kissing his stomach, taking your time to appreciate every dip and curve. 

“What a sight...” You exhaled against him, before gently tugging his pants and boxers just below his V-line. 

He groaned and brought his hand down to grip on your hoodie. He tugged gently, making you look up at him. 

“I-It’s only fair...” He blushed, suggesting you take your hoodie off since he had his off.

You smiled gently before pulling your hoodie over your head, making sure to make a show of it. He groaned as you leaned back down, your lacy bra coming into view.

You chuckled quietly before licking a slow stripe down the middle of his chest, stopping at the waistband of his pants. He whined, obviously wanting friction.

You’d have to let him know how much he meant to you first, though. You made your way back up his body, kissing his jawline. 

“You really are so cute, Rhys...” You smiled against him, now kissing the corners of his mouth. 

You felt him smile before kissing you, his hands resting on your sides. You shivered at the touch of his metallic hand. You continued to kiss his neck, his jawline, and his face gently for a short period of time. 

His eyes fluttered closed as you kissed his eyelids,”I just want you to know how handsome you are, babe...” You whispered.

His face flushed pink, and you’d decided that he’d been teased enough. You straddled his clothed cock, sitting down directly on top of it, before rocking back and forth.

He moaned as he brought his hands down to your hips, and squeezed them tightly. You leaned down, sucking gently on his neck—maybe, just maybe leaving a mark on purpose. 

“Mhhhh...” He whined, his eyes screwed shut.

You giggled quietly before rolling off of him, and helping him kick his pants and his boxers off. You looked down, his dick red and swollen between you two.

You groaned at the sight, instantly dropping to get a better view of it. You slowly licked the tip, holding his legs down. He groaned and grabbed a handful of his own hair. You figured you had teased him enough already, so you slowly sunk your mouth down onto him.

“Ohh-oh god-“ He moaned, his chest heaving with each heavy breath he took. 

He was starting to visibly sweat, and you took pride in knowing that it was because of you. You swirled your tongue around the tip of his cock, using your hand to stroke him. 

He was gasping for breath, and if that’s how he was already, you knew he’d cum soon. You stopped abruptly, making your way back up his body. 

You kissed him hungrily, before speaking,”Rhys?”

He opened his eyes, his face absolutely tomato red.

“Do you want this?” You asked.

You’d asked not only because it was the right thing to do, but because you knew Rhys was shy, and he might’ve had a hard time speaking up.

He nodded his head quickly.

You smiled toward him,”I need to hear you say it, Rhysie.”

He gulped, before speaking,”I-I want this. Please,” 

You groaned hearing his shaky voice, before quickly sliding your pants and underwear off. 

“Yknow what I was really doing earlier?” You asked, lining him up with your entrance.

“W-When?” He asked, sighing.

You giggled,”In the shower.”

He gasped as you sunk down onto him all at once, a moan escaping your throat as you tried to get used to him. 

“I was thinking about you...” You whispered, resting both of your hands on his chest. 

You slowly slid up, almost letting him fall out of you,”About how good it’d feel to have you fuck me...” 

He moaned at the combination of your words and your actions as you slid back down onto him. 

“...And about how sweet and soft you’d be...” you sighed, leaning down to kiss him.

He kissed you back hungrily, moaning into your mouth as you slightly began to bounce.

“You want me to fuck you?” He asked meekly.

You moaned, not expecting him to speak back,”God yes,”

He brought his hands up to your breasts, squeezing tightly. You moaned and threw your head back, your hands falling behind you.

Without hesitation, Rhys thrust up into you, making you moan louder than you had prior.

“How’s this?” He asked.

You groaned,”More, please...” 

He grit his teeth and drilled into you harder, bouncing you off of his cock as deep as he could. 

“Oh fuck Rhys—Oh shit-“ You moaned.

Part of Rhys wanted this to last forever. He loved seeing you fall apart on top of him. He knew he was close, though, and he wanted you to come before he did. 

He doubled his pace, slamming into you as hard as he possibly could.

“Oh god Rhys i’m close—Fuck-“

He smirked, bringing his robotic arm down to your sex. Without warning, he’d started making his fingers vibrate, before holding them against your sex, rubbing circles onto it.

“Fuck-Rhys i’m coming, i’m-“ you cut yourself off, a piercing moan filling the air. 

You came apart all at once, your legs shaking, your vision going white, and your heart beating so loud you could hear it. 

A call of your name came from the boy below you as he fell apart, coming inside of you. His legs shook as his hips fell back on to the bed, his breath heavy. 

You collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily against his sweaty chest. 

It were a while you two lay like that, sharing empty breaths that meant so much more than you could ever say. You were thankful for Rhys and everything he meant to you. 

“A-Are you okay?” He questioned, looking down toward you.

You smiled,”I’m more than okay,” You breathed. 

He smiled back,”Good. M-Me too.”

Hearing his soft words was the last thing you remembered before drifting off into sleep, Rhys’s fingers gently scratching your scalp.


	8. Chapter  Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Rhys wake up in a stranger's bed, and Amara catches you two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii this took so long to update lol. But the whole coronavirus thing is giving me time to write fanfic so lets gooo baby hell yeah.

Soft kisses on your neck woke you up from your deep sleep, and for a moment, you where confused. Where were you again? And why were you in a random person's bed?

Oh yeah.

Justin's party. You and Rhys--Oh hell yeah.

You opened your eyes slowly, blinking a couple times to adjust to the light coming through the windows in the room. You let out a quiet 'mmh?' as Rhys continued to spread kisses across your neck.

"You're up..!" He sounded excited, but whispered nonetheless. 

You smiled to yourself before wrapping your arms around him and speaking,"What time is it?"

"Umm let me check..." He trailed off, looking for his phone in the bed. 

His hands darted around the soft bed quickly, and then it hit you,"It's probably in your pants pocket silly,"

You didn't need to look at him to hear the blush in his voice,"O-Oh yeah."

He tugged on the blankets to take them from you before getting up, but you weren't having it. You pulled harder, grunting quietly.

"Rhys nooooo, i'm so warmmm..." You yawned.

"But I-I don't have any clothes on!" He stuttered.

You laughed quietly,"You act like that's a bad thing,"

Turning your head, you could see his face was flushed pink. The bottom half of him was under the covers, but he sat up, running his fingers through his hair. You smiled to yourself, observing the way he desperately tried to fix his hair back to how it had been the night prior.

"Well, if you won't check, I will," You sighed, before standing up and walking over to his pants that had been thrown on the floor.

A cold chill ran over your body. Oh yeah, you were naked too. Oh well. 

You grabbed Rhys's phone and turned around, his eyes never leaving your bare form.

"Stop staring!" You blushed.

He laughed quietly, holding his hand out for his phone,"Alright alright..."

Giving his phone to him, you jumped back into the bed and lie next to him. You began to slowly rub his right arm with your hand, craving his warmth.

"It's 9 am...?" He questioned.

Figures, you and Rhys would be the ones to wake up so early after a party. Though this was to your advantage to a certain extent.

"9 am? Meaning nobody else'll wake up for another three hours?" You smirked, your hand now rubbing circles on his lower abdomen.

He blushed pink before checking his notifications,"...Y-Yeah...Oh shit! Zayn tried to call me five times last night!"

You stretched and yawned, assuming he'd try to call him back, which he was. Now was your time to strike.

Rhys laid back down slowly while the phone was ringing, waiting for his uncle to pick up. You slowly slid your hand up to his nipples, and gently ran your fingers over them. He let out a quiet sigh before looking your way. You smiled at him before full on swinging your leg over him to straddle his lap. He looked surprised, and a blush ran across his face.

"Right now? I-I'm trying to call my--Hey uncle Zayn!" 

Ah, he must've picked up. Now things could get fun. You leaned down slowly, kissing the supple skin on his neck softly. You'd marked him up pretty good last night, geez...You didn't think it was that much. You giggled quietly before running your tongue over the love bites that littered his skin, taking your time to leave your hot breath lingering on them. Rhys's voice grew more ragged as he ran out of breath.

"Y-Yeah, i'm okay. Just feel sick is all," He lied, gritting his teeth.

You slowly kissed your way down his body, figuring if you went up to kiss his mouth, Zayn would probably hear it. Then you'd be busted. You ran your tongue over his lower neck, then his nipples. He breathed in quickly, before shooting you a 'i hate you but please keep going' look. You chuckled and smiled at him. He smiled back, and you took the time to admire the heterochromic boy. Small freckles littered his face, and if you weren't about to do sinful things to him just now, you'd climb up his body and cuddle him, telling him just how cute he was. 

"Sorry. Last night I went to this party a-and-!" He stuttered as you gently left hickeys down his chest, your tongue tracing his V-line. God damn was this boy cute.

You could hear a 'and what, Rhys?' from Zayn before your boyfriend answered.

"A girl made me feel uncomfortable is all. S-So I started freaking out..." He trailed off, watching you take the covers off of his lower body.

"Mmh..." You quietly moaned at the sight of his rock hard cock. 

His face flushed pink, and he inhaled deeply as you licked a stripe over it's head.

"Y-Yeah. Thank you for talking to her--fuck!" He slipped, it was all over. 

There was no way Zayn didn't know what he was up to now. It was your fault, though, because you'd deep throated him as far as you could. There was something about the way his dick hit the back of your throat that made you crave more. You moaned around his cock, looking straight into his eyes. His face was tomato red again, and oh my god was it cute.

"Sorry! I stubbed my toe on the uh..." He bit his lip, stifling a moan,"...On the table," he finished.

Your hands came up to his lower abdomen, scratching red lines into his chest as you sucked him off. You would never get tired of pleasing this boy. 

"T-Talk to you later. Bye!" He hung up quickly, before grabbing a handful of your hair and moaning loud.

"You just had to play with my cock, hm..?" He questioned.

Woah. Where the hell did that come from? And why did it turn you on so much? 

You whined quietly around his cock, taking it in and swirling your tongue around him. He noted that you liked when he said dirty things, and tried to do it again, though he wasn't the most confident.

He scratched your scalp gently,"Y-Your mouth feels so fucking good babe," 

You could hear the uncertainty in his voice, but you mentally thanked him for trying. Suddenly you felt two cold taps on your shoulder, and you looked up at him. His face was flushed pink, and he had a big goofy smile on his face.

"Can you um...can you come up here with me..?" He sheepishly asked.

You released his cock from your mouth with a loud 'pop!' and nodded your head. Wiping off your mouth, you climbed up next to him, your hand on his warm chest.

"What did you need, Rhys?" You asked, genuinely concerned. 

His face flushed more pink, and he avoided eye contact with you,"I-I want to..." He trailed off.

You took his jaw in your hand, making him look you in the eyes. If he wanted something, you wanted to know what it was.

"Rhys? What is it?" You asked.

He took a deep breath, and his facial features dropped from shy and dorky to serious. Oh, you liked where this was going.

"I-I want to p...nevermind-!" He tried, but failed.

You sighed, maybe he was embarrassed to say what he wanted? In that case, you could start.

"I'll tell you what I want, Rhys..." You trailed off,"I want you to fuck me so bad. I want to make you feel good baby," You smiled.

His expression read shocked, and he tried again,"Y-You want me to fuck you? T-Then I will," 

There it was. He was growing more confident in your words.

You bit your lip as he spoke,"I'll have to...to punish you for being so naughty." 

Oh, damn. This was getting good.

"Please," You exhaled in a whisper, inches from his face. 

Something about your breathless whisper turned him on more, and made him spring into action. He grabbed you and flipped you so you were on the bed on your back, facing him. He dove forward, connecting his lips with your neck. Was Rhys being...dominant? Ohh fuck yes.

He sucked on your neck harshly, intending to leave dark bruises. In a way, he was letting out his possessive frustration. He'd seen the way guys looked at you last night as you'd go to get more alcohol. He had forgiven Vaughn for taking you to get ice cream, but this was his mark. His mark on your body. Now everybody would know you were his. Rhys had never felt like this in his life. A kindle had started in his stomach, and nobody was going to put it out. You were his.

"Mmn Rhyssss..." You whined as his fingertips ghosted over your breasts. 

He flushed at hearing you whine his name, but continued his ministrations. Bringing his mouth right next to your ear, he whispered.

"What is it, naughty girl?" 

Oh fuck oh shit. If Rhys kept up this dirty talk, you'd cum without him touching you. He watched as you processed what he'd said, noting the goosebumps he'd given you.

"Please," You whined.

He'd never been dominant before, yet he liked it so much. The thrill of hearing you beg him for more was making him even hornier than he had been prior. He brought both of his hands down to your breasts, squeezing them with excessive force, before gently pinching your nipples. You whined and arched your back, eager to get closer to him. He chuckled quietly at your actions and brought his mouth down to your nipples.

"My turn." Was all he breathed before latching onto one of them, his hand occupying the other. 

He swirled his tongue around, sucking your delicate bud so hard you thought you'd burst from pleasure. Who knew a single person could turn you on this much?

"Fuck Rhys, fuckkk..." You moaned.

Something about hearing you moan his name in want sent him into a primal state. He needed more of you, and he needed it now. He released your breasts from his mouth and hand, and began travelling downwards. Spreading your legs, he left soft kisses all over your inner thighs. How sweet of him, even if he was trying to be dominant, he'd always have a soft side for you. You sighed in bliss as he continued to litter kisses throughout your thighs. Then he stopped. No hands, no mouth, no nothing. He just held your legs apart, his breath ghosting on your sex.

"Nnnh-!" You whined in protest, causing him to speak.

His voice was low, much different than the quiet, submissive one you'd heard the night before,"T-Tell me what you want."

Oh damn, were you getting embarrassed now? You couldn't just downright say it, it'd sound-

"Rhys please touch me, anywhere, I don't care where. I need you..." You whimpered.

Oh, you'd spoken without thinking. Rhys seemed to be satisfied with your request though, as he immediately brought his mouth to your sex.

He circled your sensitive bundle of nerves with him tongue, before running it up and down your entrance. You heard him groan at how wet you were, before suddenly shoving his tongue in you.

"A-Ah! More gentle Rhys!" You tried.

He pulled back quickly, returning to his submissive self while frowning,"W-Wait, I'm sorry. Are you alright? Fuck, I fucked it up-"

You interrupted him, grabbing a handful of his hair,"No no, please don't stop. Just be more gentle," You smiled.

He nodded in understanding, lowering himself back down. He started more gentle this time, his tongue gingerly poking in and out of your entrance. You let out a quiet moan at the sensation. His hands gripped your thighs tightly before he pulled you against him, full on tongue-fucking you now. 

"Rhys, yes-right there-fuck!" You groaned, grinding against his face. 

He moaned into your sex, before pulling back. His lips were covered in your juices as he made his way up your body, kissing you to give you a taste. What had taken over him? Why was he being so dominant all of the sudden? Not that you were complaining, though...

He positioned himself at your entrance, pulling back to ask you a question.

"You want this, right?" He whispered quietly.

You nodded rapidly, before gently sliding downward, his tip just entering you slightly. You groaned at the feeling.

He practically growled,"You just couldn't wait, could you princess?" 

What the fuck? Where did that come from? Nonetheless you threw your head back at his words, moaning.

He pushed into you rapidly, not starting slow. Both of you were chasing release, and you wanted it soon.

"Ohh fuck, you're so amazing-!" He sighed, fucking you at a brutal pace.

You whined, eager to see just how dominant you could make him,"Rhys please, faster," You panted.

He doubled his pace, speaking into your ear,"Can't get enough of me, can you?" He chuckled.

You groaned and wrapped your arms around him. He whispered sweet nothings in your ear, reassuring you that you were amazing and beautiful.

Despite him being dominant, he felt the need to tell you how amazing you were to him,"Fuck, I really don't deserve you princess-Ohh shit shit shit," He moaned,"You're so pretty like this. Mmh fuck-my cock sliding in and out of you, breathless. Shiiit-"

His dirty words finished you off, and you came harder than you had the previous night. 

"Rhys, I'm cumming, i'm cumming, fuck-"

He whispered quietly,"Me too baby-!" 

Before spilling himself inside you. 

Both of you were a panting mess, Rhys's hair sticking out in different directions. He gently slipped out of you and laid you down, before wrapping his arms around you.

"D-Did I hurt you?" He asked.

You giggled, and turned to face him,"I'm alright Rhys."

His face was flushed it'd usual pink, and you'd figured he was back to his submissive self now. His ECHO-eye lit up bright blue as he observed you, and you asked him about it.

"Woah mister, not running any sexual tests or anything are we?" You joked.

He stammered,"N-No! I just...how did I get so lucky?" He whispered.

You brought your fingers up to his face, gently caressing his cheek,"I ask myself the same thing."

Your eyes went from his beautiful chestnut hair, to his sparkling eyes, then to his soft lips. What a romantic moment. Well, that is before Amara decided to open the door.

"Alright, who's in this one? Oh my god, Rhys? ____? Holy shit i'm so sorry-!" She yelled before slamming the door shut. You groaned before looking at Rhys. He went pink in the face.

**Author's Note:**

> hii i’ll update this as often as i can :)


End file.
